WOT Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Found out something new about my truck yesterday. Our radiators have an oem oil cooler built right inside them!! I was replacing some worn clamps and random vacuum lines and such and noticed the 2 lines coming out from the bottom of the radiator and going to the middle bottom of the engine were looking quite nasty. So I bought a 4' section of hose and some clamps to replace the corroded ones. I got a good surprise when I pulled the first line expecting COOLANT to drain out of the hose (I thought it was a heater hose of some kind) only to find that damn ATF fluid spilled out. I changed both hoses no worries. But heres the "problem" I only lost about 200-300ML of fluid, and I think most of that came from the engine side of the hose, I dont know if any at all came out of the rad barb actually, this kind of alarmed me as I figured I should have lost alot of ATF since it is a very low point hose on the car, or at the very least there should be a good ammount of fluid filling the oil cooler ( I have no idea how big it is inside capacity wise mind you ), but my ATF level was within spec. Just dont know what to make of this Just curious, any opinions on this? Anyone ever played with or known about this cooler? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howie Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I'm pretty sure that only applies to automatic transmissions, and not the manual. And that's all I know about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) If you are talking about the two trans cooling lines that go to the radiator, well, I think every automatic trans has that in all vehicles for several decades. You may need to drive for a bit to see if the level has changed (follow the OM for proper checking procedure). I doubt you have hurt anything presuming you didn't get any dirt in the lines. I recommend double clamping the hoses you added since there won't be any barb in the line where you cut into it. Edited January 26, 2011 by BowTied Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XSrcing Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 You won't see the level change until you start the car and get the transmission to pump fluid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skulptr Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 auto tranny coolers in the radiator are stock to any vehicle for the past 25+ years.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Technically its a heat exchanger because if the tranny is cold It takes heat from the radiator and if the tranny fluid is hot (hotter than the radiator wich gets up to ~180F) then it will do some cooling. If you don't live in cold climate and make frequent short drives then I recomend bypassing it and installing a Dedicated Transmission cooler. These transmissions Produce heat very easliy so the fluid will heat up just fine even if you bypass the exchanger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOT Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 Really I had no idea that was standard, but this is my first automatic vehicle I guess, just familiarizing myself with the odds and ends of it I did go for a drive after I replaced the hoses and then checked fluid I was more concerned with how little came out of the rad when I disconnected the hoses, didnt know if there was supposed to be a good quantity in there and I have a blockage somewhere, or if everything is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 no, its just a straight pipe inside the rad. doesn't hold much. combine that with the very few ounces in the lines going to the tranny and yeah, not much fluid... No worries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOT Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Thanks bud I overthink everything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 You have likely helped others that didn't know too - so a good post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qx4donald Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Technically its a heat exchanger because if the tranny is cold It takes heat from the radiator and if the tranny fluid is hot (hotter than the radiator wich gets up to ~180F) then it will do some cooling. If you don't live in cold climate and make frequent short drives then I recomend bypassing it and installing a Dedicated Transmission cooler. These transmissions Produce heat very easliy so the fluid will heat up just fine even if you bypass the exchanger. does anyone have any suggestions to a auxillary tranny cooler? I'm one to be afraid of something that isn't monitored closely with CEL's or whatnot You'd figure "out of sight, out of mind", but daggit, if something goes wrong and there was some prevention I could have done! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 check round the wd21 areas for coolers the auto guys use there... generally one of the first things on a wd21 auto truck list to do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qx4donald Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 (edited) ^^^ does that mean R50's don't have to worry about getting a dedicated/auxillary tranny cooler? Does any R50 owner have a cooler? The reason I ask is that I experience the 2-3 transmission-flare when the truck has been sitting for more >8hours or so and eventually goes away after 5-8min when the drive train is "warmed" up. But, we know how hot a A/T will get during daily driving and keeping the fluid cooler can prolong the life and effectivness of the fluid... BUT I'm afraid that installing a cooler, the A/T fluid will take longer to warm-up, hence prolonging the duration of the 2-3 flare. ... thus this is the delimma I'm in Edited January 29, 2011 by Qx4donald Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 ^^^ does that mean R50's don't have to worry about getting a dedicated/auxillary tranny cooler? Does any R50 owner have a cooler? personally don't know being that r50's aint exactly where i am most knolidged, or the fact that even in the wd21 front, I have a 5 speed. I just meant to check that area to see what coolers they are running as a good baseline for what to run in a r50... poor wording on my part Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 ^^^ does that mean R50's don't have to worry about getting a dedicated/auxillary tranny cooler? Does any R50 owner have a cooler? The reason I ask is that I experience the 2-3 transmission-flare when the truck has been sitting for more >8hours or so and eventually goes away after 5-8min when the drive train is "warmed" up. But, we know how hot a A/T will get during daily driving and keeping the fluid cooler can prolong the life and effectivness of the fluid... BUT I'm afraid that installing a cooler, the A/T fluid will take longer to warm-up, hence prolonging the duration of the 2-3 flare. ... thus this is the delimma I'm in From what I understand, they increased the channel size in the R50 radiators so they don't clog as easily. (someone verify please) It wouldn't be a bad idea to install a tranny cooler after the radiator, allowing for faster warm up and lower running temps at the same time. When is the last time the fluid was changed?? B Check out a thread in the Garage about filters that I'm about to start... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esy Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Donald, get the fluids changed/flushed and see what happens. I've been telling you that since you got the truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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